A trip down Memory Lane

We left the UK for a life in New Zealand in 1975.  Leaving one's family and cherished friends wasn't something to be undertaken lightly, especially in those days which were well before emails, Skype, Zoom etc.  Nonetheless we managed to stay in touch and the occasional trip back to the UK also kept friendships alive.  Having said that, I guess that true friendships withstand the test of time irrespective of how often we see each other.  How often do we remark that it's like we've never been apart when we meet or speak to close friends we haven't seen for a long time?

One such close friend is UK-based Rick.  We grew up through our teen years together from a shared love of flying model aircraft.  Here's a photo of Rick and I with our free flight gliders in the 1960's.  By all means have a laugh at my woolly hat!

Yours truly and Rick, circa 1966

From our mid-teens, we also shared a love of motorcycles, avidly reading about them before actually getting our first bikes.  In Rick's case, it was a 200cc Triumph Tiger Cub and in mine, a 50cc Suzuki. We read the monthly Mototorcycle Mechanics magazine and others from cover to cover.  For topping the national exams at my school in English and Physics, my chosen book prize was "The Rolls Royce of Motorcycles"; about the Brough Superior.  At the same age as me, Rick still rides a Honda Fireblade and owns a number of classic vehicles so we've both maintained the passion about things automotive for at least 57 years.

We stay in regular touch and recent correspondence contains some lively reminiscences about our youth and whether time has corrupted some of our memories.  Then this week, a package arrived from Rick containing a copy of Motorcycle Mechanics from May 1964!  What a thrill it was to receive it because if there was a seminal moment in our youth, it was reading this particular issue way back in time. From memory, this issue was only a handful of months before getting our first motorcycles and reading about the superbike of that era, the mighty Triumph Bonneville; really got our hormones sloshing about.  Here's the cover.....

Motorcycle Mechanics magazine, May 1964

There's a lot of detailed reading to be done over the coming weeks but as well as awakening old memories, it's interesting to compare all sorts of things between then and now. Flitting through the pages, most of the magazine staff wore a collar and tie - how terribly formal!  In articles on how to maintain a bike, there was an obligatory white coat in most instances!  The other noticeable thing was a relative lack of objective data in many road tests.  Note the 120mph claim on the cover for the Bonneville for example.  Yet we swallowed it, hook, line and sinker!  Even so, the wide range of articles covering maintenance, road tests, equipment reviews etc provided a great introduction to what was to become a lifetime passion and route to personal freedom.

An initial perusal of the magazine has brought forth a few delights to share.  The first was a reader's letter on a hints and tips page. From C Yeo of Warmley:

"To seal inner tubes against slow punctures, first remove the valve and pump in about 2 tablespoons of milk, then spin the wheel and pump up.  I have found this a most effective cure".

Hmmm..... if it were today, Mr Yeo may find himself in trouble with the world's more litigous countries. Personally, I think that his hint is a subtle way of removing certain gullible riders from the gene pool.  Practical Darwinism at work.

The early 60's was a time when motorcyclists were transitioning from the traditional "pudding basin" helmets to a loose copy of those worn by jet fighter pilots.  Interestingly, there was a British Standard for testing, even in those days.  It consisted of a 10lb (4.5kg) block being dropped onto a helmet from 8ft (2.4 m).  There was an penetration test using a steel spike too.  No assessment of frontal and side impacts as full-face helmets were a fair way off.  Prices varied enormously at the time.  A basic Slazenger helmet was a little over 2 pounds and a top of the line Everoak Racemaster jet helmet was a shade under 5 pounds.

Oh dear.....

Motorcycle clothing was ridiculously cheap by today's standards but as with all items, it probably isn't a country mile away from today's prices when taken as a percentage of nett income.  The accompanying photo is for the Belstaff Trialmaster suit.  I had one of these suits.  It was devoid of armour but having hit the deck on the odd occasion whilst wearing it, its toughness and abrasion resistance was pretty good.  The advert says "treated for rot, fungus and water" which was no exaggeration of its performance and longevity.  The waxed cotton construction was hard wearing over a good number of years and because of the wax coating, a secondary layer consisting of road grime and squashed insects built up over the official one.  This might have been unsanitary but resistance to chemical, biological and nuclear weaponry could probably have been added to the list of its capabilities.

I don't recall seeing any motorcylists wearing waxed cotton jackets in recent times but in the UK at least, Belstaff seems to have found a fashion niche among "gentlemen farmers" and folk who attend TV-worthy cross-country horse events.  Green gumboots also appear to be the footwear of choice, probably even in high temperatures with not a drop of rain on the horizon.  But I digress....

A couple of adverts for accessories also caught my eye.  Whilst the early Japanese motorcycles generally came with "all the fruit", British bikes didn't generally have indicators and 6 volt electrical systems posed problems too, not the least being unable to see where you were going in the dark.  However, it was possible to buy aftermarket indicators for the princely sum of 5 pounds 7 shillings and sixpence.  With unreliable Lucas "Prince of Darkness" electrics, this may have been a bridge too far for the limited electrical output.  However, Lucas did offer a 12 volt conversion for some British models for between 7 and 15 pounds.  Perhaps they'd belatedly seen the writing on the wall with their Japanese competitors who had been initially dismissed as not being a threat.

Moving on to the price of bikes themselves, the 650cc Triumph Bonneville was priced at 320 pounds.  Arguably, the pinnacle of modern bike development at that time. 

The 250cc Ariel Arrow Super Sport cost 196 pounds.  With a pressed steel monocoque frame, it's a pity that they weren't developed further.  A friend had one and the handling was impressive.

The surprisingly competent Ariel Arrow

The mid-size 500cc Triumph Tiger 100 was 286 pounds.  I owned an earlier version and apart from irritating minor oil leaks and 6 volt electrics, they were really reliable.  The important feature of most bikes of that era was that they were easily maintained by the average owner with only a small number of special tools required for when more extensive work was required.

Power in hand.... tongue in cheek more likely!

Japanese bikes were just starting to make serious inroads into the market and 250's such as the Honda CB72 Super Dream and the Yamaha YDS2 were more than a match for most British 500's.  With the Yamaha priced at 257 pounds, it was cheaper than the 500 Triumph above with far more features.

Yamaha YDS2 with flashing indicators as standard!

The Japanese made tuning kits for their bikes freely available at modest cost even by the standards of the day. The following photo for a 250 Honda shows a high performance camshaft, head gasket and valves for a total of 5 pounds. Amazing!

Extra performance at a modest price

The magazine covers not only motorcycles but 3-wheelers too.  In post-war UK and many other countries too, family finances didn't always stretch to owning cars.  Three-wheelers could be driven on a motorcycle licence and were comparatively common on the roads in the 50's and 60's.  Unfortunately, most of them were fitted with underpowered small capacity motorcycle engines and were normally found holding up a long line of traffic on the open road or having expired en route to somewhere.  Some of the tales involving 3-wheelers deserve an article in their own right!

Prices weren't hugely more than for a bike like the Bonneville and offered extra carrying capacity and protection, even if performance was appalling.  The Fiat 500 undoubtedly offered the best value for money although it required a car licence.  I guess  that these types of vehicle provided the divergence opportunity for those who rode motorcycles for fun and those who needed them primarily for transport at a modest price.

It's a real thrill to have received the magazine from Rick and I'm looking forward to a thorough in-depth read over the coming week or two.  It represents the start of my motorcycling passion and has unlocked a lot of memories at the same time.

Were those the days???

Currently, there's a thread running on a Kiwi motorcycle forum asking members what their favourite motorcycling era was and why.  As you might expect, the answers have been heavily influenced by each contributor's age but many of the replies have been both entertaining and thought-provoking.  Consequently, I thought that I'd have a little ramble down memory lane myself and see where it goes.

There's a bit of my motorcycling history in some of the early blog posts but in a nutshell, it started in 1964 when I passed all my national school exams.  My incredulous grandparents bought me a Suzuki 50 as a well-done present.  They had correctly tagged me as not being particularly motivated at that stage and it was a surprise to both them and me that I did ok.  The Suzuki had a horsepower rating in single figures, a massive windscreen and the aerodynamics of an aircraft hangar but despite its feeble performance, it represented freedom to roam wherever I liked.  This was subsequently replaced by a 350cc Triumph Twin which leaked oil everywhere, then a 500cc Triumph Tiger 100 which was my sole transport in all weathers.  It had its fair share of reliability issues but on the positive side, it taught me a lot about practical maintenance, especially when stranded on the roadside with the awful Lucas electrical system.  They didn't call Lucas the Prince of Darkness for no good reason!

At my age, I'm way past embarrassment so the photo below is of me in 1967 (I think), complete with obligatory biker hairstyle of that era.  Marlon Brando and the Wild One movie had a lot to answer for.

A complete poser with a nice Tiger 100

Subsequent engineering studies motivated me to build a drag bike principally as an engineering exercise. Performance parts weren't so readily available over the counter as they are now and I'd like to think that people had to be a lot more innovative to get a competitive edge.  Earlier blog posts describe the work done on Icarus to make it nationally competitive but if it wasn't for the engineering lab facilities and support from the tutors, it wouldn't have happened.  There are plenty of photos of the final version of Icarus in the earlier posts, but the one below is of its first ever outing with its largely standard but supercharged Triumph engine; before the short stroke conversion, nitro and sticky slick.

More balls than I have now!

Developing a career, getting married, emigrating to NZ and raising a family pushed bikes onto the back burner for a while but they were never forgotten.  By the time I returned to them in 1987, Japanese bikes had largely cornered the big bike market, they were supremely reliable, didn't leak oil all over the place and had more performance than most of us could ever use.

My old Blackbird - still outrageous performance nearly 20 years after first hitting the market

Maybe it's partially because of my age but emphasis has definitely shifted from tinkering with bikes to simply getting out and enjoying riding them and trying to ride as well as I can - a big shift.  I dunno whether it's just me but modern bikes in general seem a bit bland, perhaps because they do everything so well.  You really have to look around for a bike which has "character", whatever that word really means.

Soooo..... having had bikes spanning a period of 50 + years, what's my favourite era?  Well, it has to be the late 60's because it had such a seminal influence on me - personal freedom to travel, intertwined with my education and subsequent career as a professional engineer.  Would I go back to bikes of that era?  Not on your nelly, unless it was for just pottering about on locally.  Modern bikes are superior in almost every way, unless you like a bit of tinkering that is!

That last sentence neatly leads me to introduce one of my closest friends, Rick.  We grew up in the UK together and both got into bikes at the same time. Rick has a love of classic vehicles.  Whilst he might strongly disagree with my definition, I use the word "classic" euphemistically, really meaning old crates which need so much maintenance that they are rarely on the road.  He has a Jensen CV8 car and a very early Morgan V8, both of which are a significant drain on his wallet and occasionally, a test of  his sanity.    He used to own a Mk 2 Triumph Trident which was so unreliable that he was on first name terms with the Automobile Association recovery teams in several counties.  Even Rick's legendary fortitude was sorely tested and he ended up selling it after a decade or two of ownership.  Among other bikes, he bought a new Honda Fireblade which curiously, has only done a minimal mileage since its purchase in 1999. Perhaps it was because he actually had to ride the thing rather than constantly tinker with it in his shed.

Despite being fully aware of the reliability issues of Italian vehicles, both two-wheeled and four, he has always hankered after a Moto Guzzi 1100 Sport.   Last year or thereabouts, he bought a late model (the last year it was made was in 2000). It was immaculate and had very low mileage.  I have to admit that it is a lovely-looking bike and the design is anything but bland. 

  

Rick and his gorgeous Moto Guzzi 1100 Sport

Being cynical and given their reputation,  I would have wondered why it was in such good condition with such low miles since new.  I would have concluded that the then owner had so many problems that it was simply parked under a dust sheet and forgotten about.  Rick was clearly ruled by his heart and bought it.  Predictably, a number of other problems surfaced which were all apparently well-known to owners.  Some of them took quite a bit of engineering to fix, others a lot of thought and patience.  With it being summer in the northern hemisphere, I'm looking forward to tales of great rides but hope that he has retained his AA membership!  Given that Rick is the same age as me (68) and the Guzzi has low bars and high footpegs, I suspect that there will also be tales of Ibuprofen being required on anything other than shortish trips!

So there we are... despite a slightly tongue-in-cheek comparison between bikes of yesteryear and today, and a gentle poke at the difference between owners who like tinkering and those who just like riding; it's been an interesting exercise to consider which era has had the greatest influence.  However, the most important thing is that we all love bikes for whatever reason!